[CjChris]

I found a couple of great rental prospects on Trade Me, then I discovered these are also listed FOR SALE. One rental listing even says, "Long term contract queries only, please" but a bit of snooping for more photos online led to me finding the same property listed for 385,000 on another site! :uhoh :confused: The other property is listed both for sale and rent on Trade Me.

Our current rental runs out in a few weeks., so we hoped to find a one year rental that would better suit us (if US property ever sells, we might be able to eventually buy something! :( )

I'm not sure what to think about the "for rent" and "for sale" thing...I've emailed the vendor of each and am waiting response; my first instinct is that no matter what they say, we might move to the new property and it could get sold out from under us.

If we sign a lease/contract for a year, are they bound to honor it? Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks,
Christine

[ourquest]

If we sign a lease/contract for a year, are they bound to honor it? Does anyone have any experience with this?

Hi Christine,
I don't have any specific NZ experience here, but you should find a "lease before sale" situation, in other words, a lease agreement takes precedent over a sale agreement and should the property sell then your contract will be honoured and your landlord will merely change. This is of course only relevant until your lease expires, at which point your new landlord will not be under any obligation to renew your lease, even if your current landlord made any promises to that effect. Although I would think this is common law, check any lease agreements for anything to the contrary.

The fact that you are finding the double listings is almost certainly a reflection of a poor property market at the moment, where a sale is becoming increasingly unlikely, and the owner probably doesn't want to be having to pay mortgage on an empty property for months while waiting for a buyer. They would rather risk having to find an "investor" buyer with their property having a tenant in place.

[Tia Maria]

Keep in mind that they may wish to show around potential purchasers. We were in a holiday let that did this, they gave us plenty of notice but it was a pain having to keep the place tidy and ourselves presentable for 'just in case'.

However, I suspect you could negotiate a lower rent under these circumstances and if its not selling then viewings may be few and far between.

Its a common problem round here with people having to look for a new rental because the owner has decided to sell. However, this is only when their agreement comes to an end. You will probably find they will try to sell to you also!

Cheers

Tia

[Jo Jo]

There are two main types of tenancy: periodic and fixed-term. If you sign a fixed term tenancy agreement and the landlord sells the house, then the tenancy agreement has to be honoured. BUT, there are drawbacks to fixed-term tenancies,the main one being that you can't give notice to end the tenancy early: you have to continue paying rent until the landlord (or you, with the landlord's permission) can find someone to take over the tenancy, or you have to apply to a Tenancy Tribunal. So you should think carefully about whether you want to be tied into a property for a year, particularly if your landlord is likely to change (the new one could be a real ogre!)

Periodic tenancies are the most common form of tenancy in NZ. For these, if the house is sold, and the new buyer wants the property to be vacant, then the seller only has to give the tenant 6 weeks' notice to quit.

There are details about the different types of tenancy here (http://www.dbh.govt.nz/tenancy-agreement#types) and an explanation of what happens when a property is sold here. (http://www.dbh.govt.nz/tenancy-change-landlord-tenant)

[CjChris]

Thanks, everyone. You've given me much to think about...off to do some more reading/research on this...